Drabbles
by myheadhertz
Summary: This is a series of drabbles that takes place a bit after the ASGtR timeline. Just so ya know. ; )
1. 1 Ridiculous

Rebecca leaned on her chair, her eyes lifelessly staring at a giant spreadsheet. The spreadsheet stared at her back. "Temperature Distribution Model- Blood Moss," were written on the top center of the screen. Right below it, there was a little sentence in italics that stated, 'Do not procrastinate, Rebecca.' A small message from Lauren. The theurgist was finalizing her fifth collaboration project, and needless to say, this luxurious concept of 'sleep' had been unattainable for more than 31 hours.

The clock ticked 1 AM. Okay, make that 32 hours.

Frantically pinching her cheeks to stay away, Rebecca lethargically rummaged through numerous files to find the data for said spreadsheet. She was filling in the first column when she heard a light knock on her window. As she opened it, she saw a scene that was way out of ordinary.

Fog bombarded her balcony, and after a few seconds, Rebecca could make out a blurry red figure that resembled a flower. Indeed it was a flower- a rose to be exact. The smoke gradually faded away, only to reveal a tall, handsome figure with sleek sapphire eyes grinning at the exhausted life wizard. The gorgeous glow of aquamarine hair along with the slender yet muscular body indicated that the figure was none other than Kent.

"Kent." Rebecca sighed, slowly leaning onto the brim of her balcony. "What are you doing here?"

The thamaturge slowly rose. Apparently, she was sitting on a magically flying carpet that strictly reminded the life wizard of the tales of Aladdin. Hell, even the ice wizard's clothing seemed to fit into that category. 'Was she trying to cosplay Aladdin? Jasmine perhaps?' Rebecca wondered as she blatantly stared at the built stomach of her so-called 'friend', whose pale skin seemed to act as an illuminant in the sea of the starry night sky. The whole atmosphere seemed like a dream. Well, Rebecca wished it was.

Kent noticed how Rebecca gazed into her abs. She was surprised; Rebecca seemed to be more built than her, due to various reasons. Not that it mattered, though. The ice wizard sneered, as she gently pawed the sides of her stomach.

"You want me to provide you a full view there?" She chuckled. In return, the theurgist scowled, perching one hand on her forehead, brows furrowing. Kent did not seem deterred at all. After all, it was not the first time seeing Rebecca's sleep-deprived state.

"Come with me." The ice wizard flirtatiously whispered. She extended her right limb so that the tip of the rose was almost touching the theurgist's lips.

"No." Rebecca instantly replied, as she gently pushed the rose away.

"Rude." Kent's grin did not wear off. She, instead, shifted a bit to create some space in her 'magical rug'. "Hey now, there's plenty of room here. No need to be afraid."

The life wizard did not respond. She simply stared in an absurd way. The thamaturge shrugged.

"It's going to be a fun night, no?"

Still, no response.

'Lord. It's that bishie grin again,' Rebecca grimaced. She quickly tilted her head to the side, not to meet the ice wizard's gaze. The safest idea was to not look at Kent in the face, go back to her room, close the windows, and finish her work. Simple as that.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have stuff to finish." Rebecca stood up, slowly stepping to the exit without looking behind. However, she was stopped by a pair of two cold yet soft hands gracefully holding her shoulders, giving a shiver in the spine.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

The grip on her arms only slightly tightened, but Rebecca was in no mood for bickering with this persistent 'friend' of hers. She simply slid out and, using her inhuman agility, went back into her room. The windows were shut and locked before Kent could even react. The thamaturge sighed, and disappeared into the darkness.

20 minutes passed, and Rebecca seemed to be on fire. No, she was not relying on coffee or any sugary material. The only thing she was relying on was her determination to finish this god damned project. Her fingers were trembling. She finished putting in the values, and was almost done with the calculations. All she had left was a graph, but her fingers were trembling even harder. 'Not now,' she thought, as she attempted to flex her hands. As expected, her hand coordination deteriorated due to fatigue.

"Not now. Not now." The theurgist murmured. "I'm almost done. Not now."

This was quite a peculiar occurrence, as stamina was one of her better traits. She had stayed up later than 1, obviously, but this time, the wizard felt numb. Her turquoise eyes headed down to her legs. Fortunately enough, the lower part of her body seemed capable of movement.

'A tactical decision at a critical hour,' Rebecca thought, 'is to head down to the kitchen and get some energizer potions.' She swirled around, and steadied herself as she limped downstairs to only see empty containers in her potion stash.

"Looking for this?" A voice echoed. It was the same voice from less than half an hour ago.

"Kent!" Rebecca growled. "What are you doing with my potions?"

"So Chase was right. You and Lauren are the unhealthiest people in Ravenwood." Kent sighed. She was holding a giant container of neon liquid on her left side. "Theurgists…"

"You did not answer my question. What are you doing with my potions?"

"Confiscating them. I've heard stories, courtesy to some pyromancer I know."

Rebecca's eyes widened, expressing utter confusion. "Why in the world would yo-"

Kent only lightly smiled at her. The thamaturge's tall height shadowed the theurgist as the former leaned closer to have a look at the latter's face.

"Kent, what are you doing?" Rebecca asked with her voice low and hoarse.

"No need to have such a shit-eating expression there. Your lengthy under-eye bags don't help either."

Rebecca deeply exhaled. "Listen, I need my potions. If my fingers weren't numb…"

"Your fingers are numb?"

That was the moment when the life wizard realized she messed up.

"Well shit- that's not it. Look-"

Obviously, she didn't sound very convincing, from the looks of the ice wizard with her jaw slightly dropped. Rebecca found no point in denying the obvious fact. She was too tired, and she definitely needed her potions.

"The project you're working on-" Kent asked. Her voice was kept low, as if she was trying to coax a beast. "What do you have left?"

'That change in voice was completely unnecessary,' Rebecca thought. She still answered, though. "A diagram. I'm almost done."

Kent nodded, but the dubious gleam of her eyes didn't disappear.

"Fine, then. It seems like you're tired, though. Let me do the carrying."

"Hm?"

"Up you go. I told you; I'll do the carrying. I'm talking about the liquid."

"Oh-?"

It was that moment when Rebecca stepped back in her room when she realized that Kent was only carrying the large container of energizer potion. No, she didn't bring any cups. Nor any device that the theurgist could use to actually drink the substance. The life wizard quickly shot a glare at her friend, who just closed the doors. It didn't take her even a second to realize that the canister was nowhere to be seen. The ice wizard did not even bother to glance back.

"Not so smart when sleep deprived, eh?"

"You are simply ridiculous." The life wizard grumbled.

"You aren't the one to say."

Rebecca perched down on her bed, her eyelids gradually drooping. Her gaze faded, only to see the shimmering screen of her spreadsheet. If she would, she'd shove Kent out of her way and finish the project, but-

"Rebecca, listen-" Kent sighed. For the first time, she actually seemed like a serious person, which struck to Rebecca as something pretty… absurd. Everyone in Ravenwood believed that she was a cool and collected student, which was basically, her "charm". Bull-shit.

"I am not in the state to bicker with you, Kent. Now, if you hand me a cup of that drink-"

"To hell with your drink."

"Kent-"

"To hell with your project." Her voice grew lower and smoother each time she started speaking. The ice wizard grabbed a pillow and lightly shoved it in front of her 'friend'. She then made room for herself in the bed, lightly pulling the theurgist so that she was in a comfortable position. "You're almost done with the project, so finish it in the morning."

Both wizards knew that, in this situation, Rebecca would deck Kent in the jaw, had she been more energetic. This was nowhere near intimate, but Kent decided to pull her hands away, only to have Rebecca lie down in peace. Alone. Just as she liked it.

"I'm surprised Chase didn't tell you why I don't finish projects in the morning." The theurgist murmured. Her eyes were barely open at this point, and, although she felt the presence of a cold hand gently stroking her hair, she didn't bother to move. More like, she couldn't.

"He did, and I'll wake you up early tomorrow." The response was rather soft, like a lullaby.

There was a long pause, which was cut off by Rebecca's whisper.

"….us."

"Say what?"

"Your clothes are ridiculous…"

Despite the content of the statement, the voice seemed fairly fond. Kent considered that as a victory.


	2. 2 Dinner Date

This was sort of based off a short doodle comic I drew not so while ago. sort of.

* * *

Rebecca was undoubtedly an introvert, but that did not mean she resented going out to dinners. Quite the contrary.

Whenever Chase and Rebecca had their off days from being the school's slaves, or the 'm-word Chase had difficulty spelling', the pyromancer usually offered the theurgist a dinner. It was not because neither was incapable of cooking, but because it was a little 'ritual' both had managed to carry on for a long time.

Having known Rebecca for many years, the fire wizard was well aware that his friend's diet was quite far away from being healthy, especially during her busy days. In order to maintain a wholesome diet for both wizards, Chase used to drag her to Mooshu, where they would enjoy a nutritionally balanced cuisine. Autumn used to tag along, but recently, she had been busy 'managing her intricate social web'. Now their dinners consisted of the duo along with Lauren, another victim of Chase who was deemed as another one of Ravenwood's unhealthiest beings. That being said, Rebecca was no stranger to the whole 'dinner with friends' thing.

Until that one 'friend' came in.

-.-.-.-.-

* * *

-.-.-.-.-

Rebecca was finishing up her chemistry lab report when she heard a light knock on her door. It soon slowly opened, and delicate footsteps quietly slumbered in, indicating that the intruder did not want to disturb the theurgist's work. The life wizard didn't even need to turn her head. It was a 50/50 chance, or perhaps more than that. Chase, for some reason, didn't have the key to Rebecca's castle as he preferred to enter via the window. Lucielle did not come home on a weekday; if she did, she would have left a little message beforehand. The only option was that bishie ice wizard- Kent. And surely it was. _Too predictable._

"Hey, Rebecca, I have something to tell you." She voiced, and after a pause, continued, "-well, more like _ask_ you."

"Just a minute." There was a blatant reply, masking the chaos ensued inside the theurgist's brain, which seemed to be mentally preparing for waves of irrelevant banter. Contrary to the seemingly 'cool and collected' image Kent had, Rebecca swore that the ice wizard could win a rambling battle against Autumn. Sadly, nobody believed the poor life wizard.

Rebecca was too into her strain of thoughts that she was unable to hear what Kent had been saying for the past minute.

The ice wizard seemed irritated when she raised her voice. "Rebecca, are you even listening?"

"Hm? What did you say?"

There was a pause, until the thamaturge replied. "I said; do you want to go out and eat dinner with me? I don't want to repeat this. Again."

The conciseness of her reply shocked the healer. It was not only short, but was also to the point- a type of statement she rarely heard from the ice wizard once they had become "friends".

"Is that a yes, or a no?" Kent seemed to be tired of waiting. Yes, another surprising thing to notice from the usually patient thamaturge.

"I… I can't believe it. You actually didn't ramble like a 3-year old today."

"Rebecca, don't sass me."

"Wow. Can you keep on talking like that?"

"You still didn't answer my question."

"I'll be ready in a minute."

Although Rebecca didn't bother to glance at Kent, the life wizard felt a pang of relief coming from her thamaturge friend as she sighed, her shoulder still leaning against the brim of the door. It seemed frivolous; she decided to ignore it.

"On a side note, how did you know today was my off-day?"

No reply.

-.-.-.-.-

* * *

-.-.-.-.-

"Oi, I'm ready." Rebecca's curt statement snapped Kent out from her blank gaze. For ten minutes, the ice wizard seemed to have a staring contest with one of her "must-read" books – _A Handmade Tail_ -, courtesy to Professor Wethersfield.

The life wizard sneered; it was easy to tell whether someone was concentrating or not, and in this case, Kent was nowhere near focused. She perched her head on top of the ice wizard's. Her aquamarine hair was soft and fluffy, much to her liking. "Stop ignoring me, you stupid-." She paused, patting. "-Un-nie."

Kent jolted, but immediately regained her composure, staring at the theurgist- who now had her brows raised- and closing her book.

" _Mon chéri,_ you just don't go scaring people like that. Also, un-what?"

"It's practically your fault for letting your guard down. Also, it's un-nie. I'm simply playing along with your ridiculous language game. You see, you aren't the only bilingual one here."

"I could see, from your deceiving accent."

"How the hell is my accent deceptive? I find it perfectly fine."

"Considering your looks-" Kent let out a grunt as she got to her feet, slowly slumping to the doorway. Rebecca was following her, and the ice wizard took a little glance at the shorter theurgist. Simple clothing- a plain t-shirt, cool grey jeans, and a denim jacket- implied that she wasn't considering this seriously. Or perhaps Rebecca gave 0 flying fucks about fashion. Kent sincerely hoped it was the latter. "- you certainly don't look like the type to have _that_ accent."

"Excuse me, is it because I'm blonde?" Rebecca rolled her eyes in disdain. "Please, my accent is slight anyways. Why, do you find it uncomfortable?"

"Quite the contrary." Kent retorted. She had to admit, it was slightly endearing. Slightly. "Anyways, what does it mean? That un-word." Rebecca just looked at her with the corner of her eye. Kent swore that she could see a faint grin in that lip of her friend. She decided not to mention it, however, for the safety of her jaw.

"You guess." The life wizard was struggling to take her key out from her pocket. "Oh, heads up- it's not an insult." She managed to open the Spiral Door, which, in return, gave out a little screen featuring all the possible worlds.

"Then, is it an endearing term?" Kent suggestively raised her eyebrows as she clicked on Wysteria, only to receive Rebecca's typical scowl. She also got pushed inside, which was even better.

"I'll tell you once you tell me what your "Mon chéri" means. I feel like I'm being called a cherry."

"But-"

"No 'but's-"

Rebecca stepped in, pushing Kent further in. The Spiral Door closed.

-.-.-.-.-

* * *

-.-.-.-.-

Turned out 'unnie' was simply a 'you'-like term to call people of the female gender that were older than the caller herself (yes, 'unnie' was a term normally used by female beings). Nothing else. Meanwhile…

"Mon chéri is a…" Kent placed a hand on her forehead. Oh boy, she really didn't want to say it. Not here. Not now. She had a lot of embarrassing moments in front of Rebecca (this was reciprocated, fortunately), and she didn't want to add another one on the list. "… French term."

"No shit, Sherlock." The theurgist sighed. "If it's something endearing, I'll interrogate you later."

 _So she did notice_.

The life wizard seemed to be looking for something in her tiny backpack. She technically had no idea where she was going, but had the feeling that she was going to be the one ending up paying. With meals with Kent, her paying rate—yes, she had calculated this—was approximately 76%, so it seemed like a safe measure to take out her wallet beforehand. To make matters worse (and somehow more predictable), Kent seemed particularly elated. Speak of the devil; a pale hand stealthily approached the vicinity of the wallet in an attempt to snatch it. Futile attempt it was, the hand ended up being (lightly) slapped. It seemed as if Kent had forgotten that Rebecca, aside from her status as a studious student, was a _bagarreur_ _qualifié_. With horrifyingly sharp sense of intuition, that was.

Rebecca looked at her friend with a curious glare. "What do you want?"

"Am I some kind of poor kid to you?"

"No, but I consider you an exquisite freeloader. Why, are you willing to pay today?"

Rebecca meant to jest. She did; the light tone explained it, but that genuinely annoyed expression from Kent told her that her intentions weren't recognized. _Okay, that was not predictable._

 _Correction: It should have been predictable._

Her lack of social experience told Rebecca that she was out of possible logical routes that could effectively lead to a moderate ending. Her mouth, on the other hand, said something else.

"… so, you're paying today?" _Welp. Shit, that was stupid._ Kent kept on staring at the theurgist, mouth agape.

"Is that really important?"

"Well, I gue-" Her mouth reacted faster than her brain. Rebecca grimaced. _I stand firmly by the point that what I said was stupid. Chase would've just shrugged it off, considering his status as her childhood friend, but Kent-_

 _Well, fuck. 6 months? 5 months? 4, even?_

A moment of stillness ensued. It lasted longer than expected. Both were walking with close proximity, but Kent turned, gazing at the civilians interacting on a fine Thursday evening. Too focused, unlike her usual self. Or maybe the usual 'persona' she had in front of Rebecca, considering the possibility that the "silent Kent" may be her real character. Either way, the life wizard did not appreciate the awkward silence. Fortunately enough, this moment gave her enough time to think.

"You know, the silent treatment is unnecessary."

The only response she got was a raise in the eyebrow. Not surprising.

"Kent-"

Still no response. Rebecca narrowed her eyes. She saw no focus on the sapphire eyes on the ice wizard. She then glanced down, to see Kent's fingers slightly twitch. A bad habit.

So it was deliberate.

"Listen, if you are willing to toy with me by using such treatment, consider yourself lucky. I will play along."

Without any hesitation, Rebecca reached for Kent's wandering hand, and slowly clasped it against hers. The life wizard felt smooth fingers slowly tightening the grip. The fingers were chilly, and she felt her heat draining away. Conduction, she would call it.

To her surprise, the feeling wasn't so bad.

Kent's gaze was still headed to the surroundings, filled with people chit-chattering, enjoying their dinners under the lilac evening sky that was embroidered with warm candlelight. Rebecca took that opportunity to inspect Kent's hand. It had a cold touch by default, just like how Chase's hands were naturally warmer. Perhaps was it because of her mana potential? Would the coldness fade away if enough heat was put in?

As she was meddling with the other's slender fingers, Rebecca didn't notice that the ice wizard was silently watching over her, lips struggling not to form a grin.

"You like it?" Rebecca asked. Only her eyes were smirking, but that was more than enough to let out a visible sigh from Kent. Victory.

"It seems that this 'silent treatment game' is over. Stop making things so easy, Kent." She sneered.

"I would have ended it earlier, but you seemed to enjoy playing with my fingers, _mon chéri_. I was nice enough to wait."

"You are seriously not going to stop calling me that."

"Not at all." The thamaturge stopped. Rebecca had been too busy fiddling with her brain and Kent's fingers to notice the trail they took in Wysteria. For a moment, she had forgotten that Kent was taking her to dinner. As of now, both of them were standing in front of a small, elegant building with dimly lit candles welcoming them on each side of the entrance. There was a sign with the words "La Pappardella" engraved on it.

"I assume this is a Valencian restaurant?" Rebecca asked. There was a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

"The founders are Valencian. Serves both Valencian and Italian food." Kent opened the door, motioning Rebecca to enter. _How very gentlewoman-y._ Rebecca let out an unimpressed look and nimbly swiped Kent's lower limb, tripping the ice wizard so that both of them could enter at the same time. _Yielding doors?_ She was having none of that.

* * *

The restaurant, to Rebecca's delight, didn't have a lot of occupants. It wasn't too barren, but it wasn't crowded either. Just the perfect amount of people, background noise, and lighting. The two wizards took a seat near the window, where they could see the beautiful garden bellowing with vines and flowers, all in warm shades. The waiter gave them menu plates, and that was when both realized that one of them was in Spanish. When Kent tried to call the server back, Rebecca stopped her and grabbed the one in Spanish, skimming through. The ice wizard looked at her in awe.

"I can't believe Chase didn't tell you about my Spanish skills." Rebecca raised one eyebrow. "After all, you probably asked him about my off-days. Not to mention my unhealthy obsession with energizer potions."

"My mistake." Kent eyed the English version, and lightly snickered. "I guess you DO learn new stuff every day. Such as the fact that you don't mind holding hands."

"Honestly, though, that silent treatment thing was completely unnecessary. And random, too." The life wizard grunted, recalling the sudden awkward silence.

"Totally worth it, though." The ice wizard let out a whistle. Rebecca didn't bother to look up. Instead, she was stuck between two possible options: Spaghetti al Pesto and Scaloppine de Pollo a la Mostaza. Whenever this kind of situation occurred with Chase or Lucielle, Rebecca remembered each other ordering one option out of the two and sharing the meal. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't going to initiate said protocol. Not now.

Eventually, she stuck with scaloppine, whereas Kent chose the spaghetti. They turned in their orders, and received a big bowl of salad and drinks for appetizer. Rebecca was sipping onto her lemonade when Kent started the conversation.

"Hey, uh, I honestly didn't expect you to comply." She wryly murmured. "I thought you'd decline."

"Why'd you think that?"

"I thought you just didn't like them? I mean, you're far from social, so I just assumed?"

"Yet, you had the courage to ask. Kudos to you." Rebecca sneered. "You're fortunate, my friend. I've had my share of dinners with Chase and Lauren. I'm pretty accustomed to them. Also, it's not the first time we went out to a meal?

"Yeah, but that time was different." _Completely different_ , Kent recalled on a few months prior. There were memories she'd wish to obliterate, and their first meal was one of them. "You know, Rebecca, things change."

"Indeed." The theurgist was chewing on pieces of lettuce as she entertained herself by watching the thamaturge put her head on the table, groaning. "Also, don't hesitate to ask for more meals. I'd comply on my non-busy days. That doesn't mean that you should sacrifice YOUR busy day, of course not. I don't think you'd make a stupid decision like that, but heads up."

Kent glanced up. The theurgist definitely looked more relaxed. "Well, isn't that something. Something I don't get rejected on."

"Hey, you're really fun to be around. I don't see why not? Dinners with friends mean more entertainment to balance out the stress I receive on a daily basis." Rebecca shrugged.

" _Mon petite amie_ ," The ice wizard purred, poking around a cherry tomato in her salad. "I don't think you understand. 'Friends' don't hold each other's hands and go out to dinner."

"I also bet 'friends' don't call each other pet names in French." The theurgist sighed. Kent's eyes widened. The words 'you gotta be serious' were written on Rebecca's face. "'Petite amie' was an easy one. I still can't grasp what 'cherie', means, though."

"I'll tell you eventually." Kent simpered suggestively. "Then, does that mean we're something other than 'friends'?"

Rebecca was calm with her response. "Yes."

"Then? What are we?" A flush of hope fluttered in Kent's chest.

"A pain in the ass. Especially you."

There was a loud clank, coming from the drop of the fork Kent was holding as well as her jaw. Rebecca was indifferent, and was on the verge of finishing her drink. The waiter came with two big plates on each hand, set the table, and elegantly trotted to his next customer.

"Rebecca, for Bartleby's sake, stop screwing with me." The thamaturge placed her hand on her forehead, exhaustingly spitting out the words.

"Make me." Was the cheeky reply from the theurgist.

"Fine. You know what? The day you stop screwing with me is the day I tell you what _mon chéri_ means. Deal?"

After a pause, Rebecca nodded her head.

"Deal."

-.-.-.-.-

* * *

-.-.-.-.-

The two wizards had a nice meal, which consisted of them occasionally stealing each other's food. Kent was back on her rambling self, and this time Rebecca managed to listen to all the verses, albeit being a bit weary on the last two. It was a common sight, considering how those two interacted on a casual basis.

There was nothing out of ordinary when they exited the restaurant and went back. Or that's what Lauren had thought when he had 'coincidentally' spotted them in his watchtower.

P.S. Rebecca finally managed to get the definition the next day.


	3. 3 Prompts

_**53\. "Who crawls through someone's window at 4am to get some ice cream?!"**_

"Her." Kent said, pointing to the unconscious theurgist as she planted her face onto Lauren's bean bag stash. Chase chuckled, and perched on a red bean bag next to the thamaturge, while reading the 17th volume of Silver Soul- one of his favorite 'classic' comic book series from Earth. It seemed to have a foreign name to it- Mango? Manga? Manwha?

Who bloody cares.

It was a hot Sunday, and the 'cooler' places such as Celestia and Wintertusk were flooded with people attempting to evade the painful August heat. Fortunately enough, Lauren's watchtower was perfectly air-conditioned, which made it the perfect location for Chase and Kent to infiltrate. Unlike the unwanted visitors, Rebecca had been a welcome guest, considering her status as an engineer/partner/friend with science brains. She was last seen fiddling with some motors, before she ended up half-dead on a teal bean bag.

A casual weekend for all, except for the fact that Kent seemed particularly ticked. Chase tried his best to suppress a cheeky grin as he glanced at her with the corner of his eye.

"Breaking in and stealing your ice-cream. At 4 in the morning. That's so typical of her." He felt the thamaturge's gaze as he flipped a page. "Say, is it the first time she's done this?"

"No. I think she's done it three times." Kent grunted, extending her hand to pat the sleeping juggernaut, who nuzzled into it. Her naturally cold touch startled the little beast, making her jerk up out of impulse. Rebecca let out a shit-eating scowl at the sudden exposure of sunlight, both unprecedented and unwanted. She lethargically stretched and tilted her head to meet the unimpressed gaze of the thamaturge.

"Mon chérie, how many times have you sneaked into my place to get ice cream at 4?"

"4 AM or 4 PM?"

"4 AM"

Rebecca scratched her stomach as she did her simple mental math. It didn't take long for an answer to come out. "I lost count after 20." Her reply came out so casually that both Chase and Kent had their mouths agape.

"What."

No response.

The theurgist then slumbered across the room, rummaging through Lauren's desk to look for his so-called "secret" stash of sugary food when the pyromancer lost his composure and broke down into laughter, mumbling the words 'three times' and 'bullshit' in between. Kent slightly reddened, and had the urge to stick his spear up his ass.

Chase chuckled, snorted, and feigned tears. "How did you not realize she was consistently stealing your ice-cream?"

"Well, I guess she was doing it so CONSISTENTLY that I thought it was normal." Kent rolled her eyes. Rebecca rolled right next to her with a chocolate bar on her right hand, mouthing 'bullshit' at the pyromancer who responded with a foxy grin. Both got a light flick on their foreheads from the resident bishie.

"But Kent, you should totally thank me for taking care of your ice cream before it passes the expiration date." Rebecca nudged. "I mean, you stopped having a shit ton of guests in your place to eat that ice cream for you. Besides, your ice cream choices are on point."

"I think I know why she rarely has guests these days." Chase closed his book, put it on the floor, and reached for the next volume he ordered. He then pointed at Rebecca, who was leaning to his side. "Rebecca is a bad influence."

"Bad influence my ass. I'm simply a hermit enjoying my hermit life. Hedonistic, if you say so." The theurgist grumbled, as she held the book for her half-dragon friend, who was shifting to make room for her on the red bean bag. Kent took the book away from her, receiving the typical glare. She glared back.

The staring contest ended with a Kent slouching next to Rebecca. She let out an exhausted sigh, which gradually turned into a sheepish grin. "Say, if you like my ice cream so much, wanna get some ice cream right now?" The theurgist hummed affirmatively, but her cheeks nuzzled onto the complacent texture of the bean bag. "I don't want to move, though."

"Look, if you don't move in three seconds, I'm going to stop placing ice cream for you to eat at 4 AM."

That seemed to do the trick. In a few minutes time, the two left the watchtower with Chase behind. (Yes, the pyromancer politely declined the offer, much to the thamaturge's delight.) He was halfway through the 18th volume when his communicator blinked. Surely, it was from Lauren.

 **LAUREN:** Are you still in my watchtower?

 **CHASE:** ye

 **LAUREN:** With Kent and Rebecca?

 **CHASE:** uh

 **CHASE:** no

 **CHASE:** acutally, i meant to tell u earlier

 **CHASE:** but like

 **CHASE:** kent just took rebecca on an ice cream date

 **CHASE:** (although idk if rebecca finds it as a date but i hope she does)

 **CHASE:** (the slow burn is killing me inside)

 **LAUREN:** Oh.

 **LAUREN:** Oh my. That's a pity; I just bought ice-cream for all of you.

 **CHASE:** no worries darlin save it for l8r

 **CHASE:** anyways

 **CHASE:** now its only u and me pretty boi

 **CHASE:** ;^)))

 **LAUREN:** It seems so.

 **LAUREN:** Say, can you turn on the projector for me? I'm still on my way.

 **CHASE:** ayyyyye we gon stalk them like last time?

 **LAUREN:** I'd call it long-range observation. But sure.

 **CHASE:** aww yiss

 **CHASE:** movie time

 _ **80\. "How can you think I'm anything but hopelessly in love with you?"**_

[Sequel to Chapter 2: Dinner Date]

Kent was reading 'A Handmade Tail' with a Rebecca relaxing on her lap, who was flicking through a comic book that Chase had lent her not so long ago. Both were spending their leisure time on Rebecca's newly-bought couch, much to Lucielle's insistence. Pieces of scientific articles were scattered everywhere, clearly marking the place Rebecca's.

It was a comfortable moment of silence, unlike the one that ensued the day before when Kent somehow managed to take Rebecca out for dinner. Kent, being the talkative one out of the two, acknowledged the theurgist's disposition to prefer silence to 'mindless bantering' and decided to engage in an activity that kept herself quiet as well. To her surprise, it was Rebecca that broke the barrier of stillness.

"Remember how we had a deal that you'll tell me what 'mon chérie' means if I stop being a tease? Or "screw with you", as you would put it?" The theurgist chuckled, her eyes glued to the pages of the comic book.

"Yeah, we set it up yesterday during dinner." Kent blatantly replied, as she slowly caressed the golden locks of Rebecca's hair. "Why, you have something up your sleeve?"

"Well." Rebecca closed her book, slowly closed her eyes, and hummed."I've been thinking; the conditions of this 'deal' is a bit too vague."

"So, you want me to elaborate on what 'quit being a tease' is?"

"Essentially."

Kent looked down at the relaxed theurgist. After a moment of contemplation, she slightly bent down, still minding the distance Rebecca wanted her to keep. Her aquamarine eyes glistened foxily, and Rebecca could feel Kent's flirtatious gaze without having to open her eyes. The thamaturge's sleek fingers were still gently running through her hair, as she lightly lowered her voice. "Do you want me to give you a demonstration?" The grasp tightened, and Kent let out arguably the most mischievous, bishie grin she could ever make since day one. She slightly leaned down, where mint pupils met aquamarine.

With that, Rebecca jerked upwards, the top of her head almost colliding with Kent's jaw. No, she did not flush. Instead, she looked at the thamaturge in what could only be stated as horror. That moment when their eyes met, Kent could feel her heart dropping dead. She clearly scared the theurgist.

Fuck. It didn't take even a second to realize that she was dealing with Rebecca. Out of everyone else.

Rebecca.

Said theurgist could also sense that Kent was in a state of panic, and they both froze, staring at each other in awe. Rebecca, personally, did not expect herself to react this extremely, but well…

…the universe didn't seem to like her so much, did it?

"Uh, Rebecca, I'm sorry." Kent hesitated. She deeply contemplated on putting her hands on the theurgist's shoulder, but seeing her expression, the thamaturge mentally slapped her hands from doing so. "I… I know you're not familar with contact-"

The theurgist cut her off. "No, no. You shouldn't be the one apologizing." She awkwardly scratched the back of her head, her expression turning enigmatic. "I mean, what I did was…somewhat rude." She sighed, but her eyes still didn't meet Kent's. "Give me a moment, I'm sorry."

A logical solution to this situation, to Kent, would be to apologize again and exit politely. She attempted to initiate the protocol, but was met with a pair of hands slowly approaching her. Within seconds, she was lightly clasped with two, muscular arms. The grip gradually tightened, but not tight enough to hurt the thamaturge.

"Don't. I told you…to give me a moment."

"Goodness." Kent gasped, repeating the phrase a few times before she managed to glance at Rebecca, who was squinching. "Is this a… hug?" The theurgist took some time to loosen her facial structures, glance up and meet the surprised gaze from above. She was uneasy with her answer. "Uh, maybe?"

Two chilly hands hesitantly managed to get a grip on the arms lightly wrapping the body. The thamaturge sighed before looking back down. As surprising and pleasing this situation might be, she clearly needed clarification. "Rebecca, if this is uncomfortable with you, you don't have to do th-" Again, she was cut off by a tighter wrap, and soon, she could feel the warmth of the other's body, especially when the theurgist's head nuzzled against her neck.

"God damn it, Kent, you should at least credit me for doing this." Rebecca murmured, grimacing for a moment and loosening afterwards. This simple phrase absolutely stunned Kent, as her arms comfortably wrapped around Rebecca, one arm against her back and the other lightly patting the golden locks of hair. "Shit. Rebecca." Kent stammered, feeling the heat crawl up her ears. "This isn't happening."

"It is. Embrace the reality, bishie." Was the fond reply. "Hah, get it? Embrace."

When the theurgist managed to look up, she was surprised to see bits of red on Kent's face. Her blush had a distance from subtlety. Because of a hug. Like a fool, Rebecca let out a sheepish grin, and then a wide one that showed her pearly whites. "This… was easier than I expected." She then let go of her grip, letting the thamaturge lean back to the rim of the couch.

"That… was "easy"? Rebecca, are you seriously-"

"-seriously what? Being a tease? Are you still doubting me?" Rebecca chuckled, reaching to pick up the comic book she put down earlier. "Rest assured, un-nie, I wouldn't hug anyone as a tease."

Kent buried her face in her hands. 'Rebecca won't hug anyone. Consider yourself blessed by Bartleby if she does. Who knows? Ya might win the lottery.' Chase's playful voice echoed inside her head. She turned to face the theurgist, who was visibly cackling at the unexpected reaction.

"Is this supposed to be entertaining?"

"Just a bit. Never in my life I've seen someone react that much to a hug. I should do that more often, shouldn't I?"

"You're going to kill me." Kent grinned, as she shifted to cuddle the theurgist once more. When she met little resistance, she dreamily sighed. "You're seriously going to be the death of me, mon chérie."

"If that's so, I feel pity for you."

Disregarding Rebecca's statement, Kent spent the rest of her visit snuggling the theurgist and watching a movie that eventually put the life wizard to sleep. In her arms. Clearly not the other way around.


End file.
